ReForm Project

Day 1 Problem statement - customer requirements

Input: Presentation “Kick-off” (Dr. Thanh)

about course organization, guideline, evaluation, documentation, communication with Slack, google sites.

Presentation of a potential solution in the form of a case study of a plastics recycling machine.

Input: Presentation “problem statement and customer requirements” (Jan Zellmann)

1. Project context: development of machinery to transform plastic waste into valuable forms, in a social franchise approach and using a decentralized infrastructure.
2. Project importance: The project is essential to implement the first test center in the "real world". The working prototype processing line including the VGU heat-forming machine will be installed in a local collection center in Danang, staff will be trained and products will be produced.
3. Need identified: The heat-forming process is the most technical part of the production and is essential for the final product quality. It should be developed to be integrated with the machinery currently purchased by EGL.
4. Presentation of the concept of social business and expectations for roll out of the plastic recycling facilities.
5. Detail customer requirements including price, plastic output quality, etc…

Expected results day 1:

Team formation with core competencies, their relevance and role assignment for this project

Problem statement

1. Clearly and concisely state the problem
2. What are the top 5 needs/project ideas that you considered? Explain in the context of enabling social business.
3. What elements of social business do you intend to target by solving this need? Discuss briefly.

Customer requirements:

1. Identify/classify your customer needs and requirements very clearly.
2. What are the most relevant customer requirements - targeted functionality of the product and other important specifications? Justify. You can use a storyboard to show customer use.
3. How does the customer solve this need currently? What products exist currently for meeting this need (fully or partially)? What are the differentiating factors for your product concept compared to the competition? Provide results of patent searches and other studies.

Day 2: Engineering Specifications

Input: Presentation “customer requirements analysis”

1. Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
2. German or Japan Function analysis and engineering specification,
3. Reverse Engineering in the context of repurposing

Input: Presentation “Current EGL experimentations”

Current EGL experimentations are explained. Details are find in EGL prototying section of the website.

Input: Reading Material about plastic recycling projects

1. 2012: Development and realization of downsized recycling equipment for home factories
2. 2014: Recycle bin with Berlin BSR trash bins (in German only)
3. 2015-16: Recycle unit for plastics in Gaza (I and II)

Expected results day 2:

1. Provide a detailed specifications list/chart. Justify.
2. Quantify every specification. Words such as “minimize,” “optimize,” “maximize,” have no place in a set of engineering specifications.
3. Describe how you have translated the customer requirements (I need water) into engineering targets (device must carry 2 liters of water) that your product will achieve. It is important to explain how the specifications were developed. Use references to other documents/standards as required. If needed added detailed explanation in the Appendix
4. Which requirements are more important than others? How was this determined?
5. How are the engineering targets/specifications interrelated? How did you decide that?

Use a QFD chart. The chart itself should only help clarify the text that should provide explanation/justification in your report.

Day 3: Concept generation

Input: Presentation “concept generation”

• Classification Schemes (CS) and Morphological Matrix (MM)
• Templates CS and MM

Expected results day 3:

1. Provide detailed functional decomposition (function -> sub-functions -> sub-sub-functions) for the problem. You should still be discussing WHAT you want to achieve and not how to achieve it. The more the details, the better it is.
2. Present and discuss the morphological chart or other techniques used to determine the principles/ideas used to satisfy every function in your functional decomposition. -
3. Describe the process of generating multiple alternative concepts. Provide examples of significantly different concepts. Put most of the concepts and details in a well-organized appendix. In the main text, salient features of 4-5 main (and significantly different) concepts could be listed. All other concepts should be represented (not necessarily described or sketched) in the appendix.

Day 4: Concept selection (part 1)

Input: Presentation “concept selection”

• PUGH chart, Weighting Evaluation Criteria, Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Template: PUGH Chart

Expected output day 4:

a. Describe the methods used to select the chosen concept from among the top 4-5 concepts. In most cases, scoring (Pugh) matrices should be suitable.

b. Make a strong objective argument (you can use the salient features that you listed in the previous section for this) why the concept you have chosen is best (with respect to the customer specifications and engineering requirements), making sure to mention the concept’s disadvantages along with its advantages. Avoid salesmanship.

Day 5: Concept selection (part 2)

Expected output day 5:

1. Qualitatively describe the operation of the chosen concept.
2. Clearly explain the platform product structure. What is the core element? What elements vary according to different market needs?

Day 6: Detailed design (part 1)

Input:

• Presentation “Design for manufacturing”: machine elements, CAD, FEM (day 6)

Expected output day 6:

1. Provide results of engineering analysis to verify that your product design is indeed feasible. Provide as much technical detail as possible (in the body of the report and, where appropriate, in the Appendix). Describe the approach to determine the specific parameters (e.g., dimensions, shape, materials, etc.) for your design. Each engineering decision should have a strong rationale behind it, such as equations or engineering logic derived from various sources, such as engineering catalogs, books, empirical tables, and engineering software. A typical example would be a geometry/material decision supported by failure or stress analysis. Use the simplest model possible that will give you the accuracy needed for your decision. In short, show the calculations that led to your decisions. Since including derivations and large numbers of basic equations can be cumbersome to read in a report, put the calculations in a clean appendix that can be easily understood by an Engineering Manager. You can put the primary logic and important results in the main text.
2. The engineering analysis should implicitly/explicitly answer questions, such as the following: How is the design being modeled or analyzed in an engineering sense? What level of detail was chosen and why? Is the level of analysis appropriate? Is the analysis correct? How much confidence do you have in your analysis?
3. Based on the design analyses, decide which machine components are bought and which can be constructed with the machine capacities at the VGU laboratory for precision engineering. Indicate price estimations for the machine parts which are purchased and justify your decisions.

Day 7: Detailled design (part 2)

Input:

Links to : “Sourcing strategies” (day 7)

Expected output day 7:

1. Have technical issues been overlooked? Is more analysis needed, and if so, what? Is there enough time to complete needed analyses? If not, on what basis will you proceed? Remember, deadlines are a natural part of life…
2. Provide a detailed Bill of Materials in reference to the 3D CAD drawings for the final design. Ensure that the bill of materials (BOM) accounts for that, and for the requirement to source local materials and reference the estinated material price. Describe your final design (not the prototype). Use sketches/illustrations/CAD/layout models as appropriate. Provide as much technical details as possible.

Day 8-10: Final design

Input: Presentation “manufacturing plan” (day 9)

• Manufacturing plan, ROI and IRR
• Templates ROI and IRR

Expected output (final):

a. Whereas the previous section describes your engineering approach to address the technical issues within your project, this section describes the solution and its relationship to the engineering conclusions that you reached above.

b. All materials that will be used should be selected to the degree possible. Describe clearly the operation of your device. It should not only clarify what the final design is, but how it will work, and why it will work. Try to correlate with the engineering specifications that you wanted to achieve.

c. Assume and describe briefly the machine operation training contents and the maintenance scheme you suggest for your machine. Suggest strategies for developing these operations by stating which stakeholder should be involved.

d. What are the most critical parts/elements of your design? Explain why you think that they are critical (manufacturability, functionality, effect on price, etc.). According to the template on manufacturing plan, ROI and IRR, draw the conclusions on the financial feasibility of your design, stating advantages and disadvantages.